Broken Silence
by Tie4
Summary: Takes place after the end party at Thriller Bark. In need for silence, Robin takes Choppers duty of watching over Zoro through the night. However it becomes much more eventful then she had originally thought. Romance not intended but not out of question.


_Takes place after the end party at Thriller Bark._ In need for silence and a place to read, Robin takes over Choppers duty of watching over Zoro through the night. However it becomes much more eventful then she had originally anticipated. Romance not intended, but can be seen through a very thick lens.

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Broken Silence.

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After the end party at thriller bark:

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Silence.

Absolute silence.

It always surprised her how quickly the straw-hats parties would quiet down. One moment they would be singing songs at the top of their lungs, then the next they'd be fast asleep in their chairs. Tonight had been slightly different for this time Chopper told everyone that they needed to sleep somewhere else so that he could continue care for Zoro in peace. Robin however stayed partially for the silence, but also to catch up on some reading. The past few days events had caused her to neglect her studies.

"Hmmm..."

The sound snapped her out of her book. She glanced up at the source and smiled; seeing Chopper dozing off at the table he had set up for Zoros medications. The poor little reindeers eyes were half opened as he slowly ground herbs in a small bowl. He looked as if he was going to fall asleep standing there. Well, Robin wouldn't have that.

"Chopper." She said, shattering the newly replaced stillness. Chopper jumped about a foot and almost fell off his chair. This just caused her smile to widen.

"Y-yes Robin?" He answered. She stood up and moved her way around Zoros bed towards the small doctor.

"Why don't you go to bed? You've had a long day today."

Chopper rubbed his eyes, but shook his head. "N-no, I'm okay! And besides, I have to take care of Zoro..."

Robin pulled out the deers chair, making him wobble a little bit. "I'll watch over him." She offered. "I was going to stay up anyway, I have some reading to do."

Chopper looked at her, then to Zoro, then back on her.

"Y-...you sure?"

She nodded, patting him on the back. "Of course. It will be no trouble. Now go get some sleep."

He thought for a moment more, then nodded and yawned, stretching his little arms. "All right but...if you need me for anything-"

"You'll be the first I wake." She answered. He hopped off the chair and turned towards her, pointing to the herbs he had just ground.

"Oh, if he wakes up sometime, make sure he drinks this okay? It should help with the pain..."

"Will do." She said and gave a small wave. He smiled and gave a small wave back, then wobbled to the door. It shut with a 'click' and Robin gave a sigh.

Silence.

Complete silence.

She glanced down at the patient, pursing her lips slightly. So many wounds...they had all been shocked when Sanji dragged the poor man back to the ship. She had been positive he was dead, with the amount of blood that covered both of them, but Chopper quickly took over the situation. She had been the one to help Chopper with some small surgery and stitching the swordsman up again. It was simply a miracle that he was alive.

She sighed and shook her head. Coffee. She needed coffee. And her book. But first...

She gave the swordsman one more long look, then nodded.

Coffee.

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It wasn't until 2:00 that things started to happen. However when they did, they happened rapidly.

Robin had just poured herself a new cup of coffee and was about to start a new chapter when Zoro shot out of bed with a cry of panic and pain. Immediately she got into her Hana Hana position and called hands to his bed. They grabbed his arms, shoulders and head and pulled him back to his original position. This only caused the swordsman's panic to heighten and he struggled harder to get free from her grasp.

"Mr. Swordsman-San!" She pleaded, another set of hands grabbing her coffee and passing it to Choppers medical table. She quickly dumped the herbal mixture into the drink and mixed it with another extra few hands. "Mr. Swordsman-San you need to relax. You're only going to hurt yourself more-"

"Where am I! What's going on, where's Luffy-" He started to shout. Robin took her chance. Passing the cup, her hands poured the coffee into his open mouth. He gagged in surprise and was just about to spit it up when she closed his mouth with a new set of hands, shoving his head upwards. This caused him to swallow involuntarily. She could tell he was not pleased by the fact. He was just about to bite her when she leaned over him, catching his attention.

"Mr. Swordsman-San, please calm down! Everyones safe, everythings all right. Please just relax." He glared at her for a moment, then realization started to wash over him. He slowly began to relax against her many arms and his breathing slowed. Then, when she was sure he was back in his head again, she released him in a flurry of petals.

"Thank you Swordsman-San." She said, taking the coffee cup and setting it down on the medical table.

"W-...what was that junk?" He asked, his voice hoarse. She thought for a moment, confused as to his meaning, then realized he was referring to her force-feeding.

"Coffee, mixed with medicine." She answered. "It should help some of the pain you're in."

Zoro grimaced, but didn't meet her gaze. "Well...next time...let's use something that tastes better..."

She smiled. "Well, next time give me more time and I'll come up with something."

He "Hnn"ed, but continued to stare at the ceiling. Robin took a deep breath in, then noticed a steady seeping of red under one of the bandages on his left arm.

"And next time, lets try to not reopen wounds..." She mused aloud. He glanced down just once as she tended to the wound, but mainly focused on a fixed point above him. At first she thought his silence and behavior was his way of ignoring the pain. Though as she finished up she noted that he did not flinch during the re-stitching she had to do, so it couldn't of been pain.

Not in the physical sense anyway.

"Are you all right Swordsman-San?" She asked. She snipped the wire for the stitching and let one of her hands find her fresh gauze.

"I'm fine." He said.

Silence.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice softer.

"The medicine is working, thanks." Zoro snapped, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I wasn't referring to your wounds, Swordsman-San."

He opened his eyes with a blink, then looked at her. She was not surprised to see his dark eyes were locked tight without emotion.

"Then what are you referring to?"

Robin cocked an eyebrow. "I was referring to your talk with Bartholomew Kuma. Or perhaps I should I say agreement."

He stared at her for a moment, then looked back at his spot on the ceiling.

"...Who all knows?"

"Just Sanji and a few onlookers. He swore them to secrecy, so you don't have to worry. I just so happened to overhear, thats all."

She saw him frown slightly. "I see."

There was silence again. She by now had found a new role of gauze and began to wrap the wound carefully.

"It was very honorable...what you did. Not many people would do that for their captain you know...it says a lot about what type of person you are."

"And what type of person is that?" Zoro asked. This time however his voice had changed to a softer tone. She should have looked up, but instead she concentrated on her work.

"Loyal...trustworthy...someone whom one can always count on. Luffy and the rest of the crew are very lucky to have such a valuable member on their team."

"Are they?" He choked.

This time she did look up and was completely blown away. Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter, the three bladed demon...was crying.

She caught her jaw before it dropped, then swallowed. She...had not expected this...

"Mr. Swordsman-Sa-"

"I don't regret it!" He shot, cutting her off. Tears ran in steady streams down his cheeks and onto the back of his neck. "I would do it again if I had too, I...I don't take it back..."

"Of course not..." She consoled, her voice a whisper. She moved to the side of his bed and placed a hand on his. He grabbed it tightly to her surprise, but she didn't let it show. Though it wouldn't have mattered for Zoro had his eyes closed tightly, trying to fight back his emotions.

"It's just..." He continued, swallowing down another wave of tears. "...I just...The pain...Luffy had...that I t-took for him...it was far worse then a-anything I'd ever gotten in too...and that...that was just ONE fight..." He took a deep breath, and his grip on her hand tightened. "...so I gotta wonder...how much does he give...on a normal basis...a-and what the heck am I doing...thats so important...that he has to go through that? I-I mean what kind of...first mate am I, that I...I can't take some of that for him?"

Robins heart broke as she heard the mans words. Because never before had she met someone so devoted through just the ties of rank. Because she had only witnessed once in her life such a sacrificing love, not tainted with lust or greed. Because here lied a man broken, bleeding and almost on deaths door, crying out not for his own pain and suffering, but simply because he could not do more for his leader. This...was something she had never seen before. Its purity fell the walls of her heart.

She took deep breaths and swallowed. Then, after wiping the tears she just then realized she had shed, she looked up.

"I don't think...there is anything I can say to answer that question." She said. There was silence for a moment, but then she sighed and looked back at him.

"But let's not forget who you are, Mr. Swordsman-San. Yes, you are incredibly strong and skilled, but that does not change the fact that you are human." She removed her hand from his and stood up and started to sort through the medical table. "You must not forget that Luffy is supernatural. His Gomo gomo abilities put him in many different battle positions, giving him more potential to receive many different blows. And, in taking his pain, you forced situations onto your body that it is simply not capable of." Finally she found a clean rag and sat back down on the side of the bed. She then leaned over him and began to dab his eyes. He closed them, letting her dry them off and took a deep breath.

"So...there's nothing I can do then..." He whispered. Robin finished and set the rag down, but continued to lean over him.

"I wouldn't say that..."

He opened his eyes again, confusion shinning through.

"Oh?"

"Hmm." She smiled, then tucked a few runaway strands of her black hair behind her ear. "Perhaps Zoro...if you made yourself supernatural...you could be strong enough so that Luffy doesn't have to be put in a position to receive that amount of pain and fatigue. Do you understand?"

He was silent for a long moment, different emotions running through the back of his eyes. Then slowly he spoke,

"So I...have to train harder...to put myself on Luffys level..."

"That is correct." She answered with a nod. He thought for a moment more, then sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

"Yeah...I can do that..."

"I thought you could." She said with a smile. She stood up and moved back to her reading chair. "Now, since you're not on that level yet, your body still needs a great deal of rest. So I expect you to sleep, which I know should not be difficult for you."

He chuckled at the comment. Her smile widened as she sat down and picked up the book. Not one paragraph in, his voice filled the quiet air again.

"Hey um...can we keep this between you and me?" He asked. This made her chuckle.

"Of course."

Silence.

"Robin?"

"Hm?"

"...Thanks..."

"Anytime Mr. Swordsman-San."

Silence.

"Hey...you said my real name just a moment ago-"

"What was that Mr. Swordsman-San?"

Silence.

"Nothing...Forget it."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

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Hey! So I'm not dead! *cheer?* Anywho, found much time on my hands and figured I have no excuse not to write some one shots. Here is the first! It's One Piece again, the show has become quite an obsession for me. *sweatdrop* But anywho hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'm not sure if this would be considered fluff or not, I didn't write it with that intention. However I don't think there is enough of this couple out there! They are just to cool. I most likely will do another with them, maybe next time with a little more romance. ^-^. Anywho, leave a comment! I love to know what you guys think! Have a great day!


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